Microsoft It responded to a lawsuit filed by US regulators to block its $68.7 million takeover ActivisionThe manufacturer call of Dutywhile defending its acquisition XenimaxOwner of Bethesda.
Earlier this month, The Federal Trade Commission The US has sued Microsoft in an attempt to block its purchase of Call of Duty maker Activision on grounds of antitrust violations.
In the complaint, the US regulator argued that once the deal was completed, Microsoft would have the means and incentive to harm competition, adding that the Redmond giant could manipulate pricing, reduce quality, disrupt the experience on rival consoles or withhold titles. Competition ultimately exploits consumers.
The company, in response to the lawsuit, filed a 37-page response that basically says the acquisition of Call of Duty will not harm competition.
Xbox also believes it’s good business to make Activision’s limited portfolio of popular games available on more platforms, making them more affordable and more accessible to consumers. That includes making Call of Duty, one of Activision’s most popular games, more widely available. Microsoft made this public pledge the day the deal was announced. After that, Xbox agreed to provide the game Nintendo (Currently it does not exist) and has been offered [retracted] until Sony [retracted],” the Microsoft document says.
Microsoft here refers to the 10-year deal it signed with Nintendo and a similar deal offered by Sony, but the latter rejected it, finding it “absurd on so many levels.”
The Activision acquisition won’t hurt the market, Microsoft assures
The FTC Regulators around the world are also skeptical that Microsoft will be able to withhold the Call of Duty series from Sony’s PlayStation. To which Microsoft responded, “If Xbox were to block Call of Duty from Sony’s PlayStation or other platforms that compete with Xbox, Xbox would immediately forgo billions of dollars in lost game sales and a large portion of Activision’s hard-earned earnings. To attract and retain.”
The FTC said in its complaint that Microsoft had already shown it could withhold content from gaming rivals, citing its acquisition of Zenimax, the parent company of video game company Bethesda.
“The European Commission acknowledges that it was not misled by publicly stating the day after the complaint that Microsoft did not make any ‘commitments’ to the European Commission regarding Zenimax’s future distribution strategy for games,” Microsoft said in response to FTC concerns that the company made false promises to the EU in its acquisition of Zenimax.
When the deal was approved in Brazil, Microsoft was heavily scrutinized by the UK and EU over “antitrust issues”, and around 10 gamers sued Microsoft for the same reason.
Earlier this month, The Federal Trade Commission The US has sued Microsoft in an attempt to block its purchase of Call of Duty maker Activision on grounds of antitrust violations.
In the complaint, the US regulator argued that once the deal was completed, Microsoft would have the means and incentive to harm competition, adding that the Redmond giant could manipulate pricing, reduce quality, disrupt the experience on rival consoles or withhold titles. Competition ultimately exploits consumers.
The company, in response to the lawsuit, filed a 37-page response that basically says the acquisition of Call of Duty will not harm competition.
Xbox also believes it’s good business to make Activision’s limited portfolio of popular games available on more platforms, making them more affordable and more accessible to consumers. That includes making Call of Duty, one of Activision’s most popular games, more widely available. Microsoft made this public pledge the day the deal was announced. After that, Xbox agreed to provide the game Nintendo (Currently it does not exist) and has been offered [retracted] until Sony [retracted],” the Microsoft document says.
Microsoft here refers to the 10-year deal it signed with Nintendo and a similar deal offered by Sony, but the latter rejected it, finding it “absurd on so many levels.”
The Activision acquisition won’t hurt the market, Microsoft assures
The FTC Regulators around the world are also skeptical that Microsoft will be able to withhold the Call of Duty series from Sony’s PlayStation. To which Microsoft responded, “If Xbox were to block Call of Duty from Sony’s PlayStation or other platforms that compete with Xbox, Xbox would immediately forgo billions of dollars in lost game sales and a large portion of Activision’s hard-earned earnings. To attract and retain.”
The FTC said in its complaint that Microsoft had already shown it could withhold content from gaming rivals, citing its acquisition of Zenimax, the parent company of video game company Bethesda.
“The European Commission acknowledges that it was not misled by publicly stating the day after the complaint that Microsoft did not make any ‘commitments’ to the European Commission regarding Zenimax’s future distribution strategy for games,” Microsoft said in response to FTC concerns that the company made false promises to the EU in its acquisition of Zenimax.
When the deal was approved in Brazil, Microsoft was heavily scrutinized by the UK and EU over “antitrust issues”, and around 10 gamers sued Microsoft for the same reason.
